TechSpot Reviews and Featureshttps://www.techspot.comLongform articles and reviewshttps://www.techspot.com/images/techspot-rss-logo-small2.pngTechSpot Reviews and Featureshttps://www.techspot.comen-usCopyright 2017 TechSpot, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.https://www.techspot.com/review/1493-intel-core-i9-7980xe-and-7960x/https://www.techspot.com/review/1493-intel-core-i9-7980xe-and-7960x/Finally the Skylake-X series is complete. We now have Intel's new 16- and 18-core processors on-hand an while we don't doubt Intel had planned to release Skylake-X all along, did they really plan to offer something higher than a 12-core part before catching wind of AMD's Threadripper?

]]>Mon, 25 Sep 2017 02:00:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/article/1494-reality-distortion-field-iphone-x/https://www.techspot.com/article/1494-reality-distortion-field-iphone-x/Apple has confirmed that more than a tech icon, it's become a cultural phenomenon. But with such potential for truth bending, we've put together a short list of our thoughts about the company's new iPhone X, not in their words but ours.

]]>Mon, 25 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/review/1487-asus-rog-strix-xg27vq/https://www.techspot.com/review/1487-asus-rog-strix-xg27vq/Let's cut right to the chase. The Asus ROG Strix XG27VQ is a $350 gaming monitor, 27 inches in size, with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a refresh rate of 144 Hz. We're looking at a VA LCD panel here with FreeSync support, sporting an 1800R curvature.

]]>Fri, 22 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/review/1492-hp-omen-desktop/https://www.techspot.com/review/1492-hp-omen-desktop/HP's more modest gaming desktop is the simply named Omen Desktop, which is now available with AMD Ryzen processors inside. It's a more traditional tower-style chassis that's highly configurable, with prices ranging from just under $1,000 to over $3,200.

]]>Wed, 20 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/review/1491-top-5-worst-gpus/https://www.techspot.com/review/1491-top-5-worst-gpus/Recently we put together a "Top 5 Worst CPUs" feature as a fun side article and readers loved it. The requests came in for a similar article looking at graphics chips and so we're going to have a go at that today.

]]>Mon, 18 Sep 2017 02:00:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/review/1490-ryzen-vs-core-i7-vega-64-geforce-1080/https://www.techspot.com/review/1490-ryzen-vs-core-i7-vega-64-geforce-1080/By using the Core i7-7700K and Ryzen 5 1600, each with the Vega 64 and GTX 1080 at 1080p and 1440p we have some very interesting results to go over. Further, we suspect these are typical hardware combinations many are considering for building a new high-end rig when gaming is a big factor.

]]>Fri, 15 Sep 2017 02:24:34 -0500https://www.techspot.com/article/1489-forgotten-video-games/https://www.techspot.com/article/1489-forgotten-video-games/Before the emergence of online stores, if you wanted to play old video games and they weren't available locally, there was simply no way to buy them. But you could download them, and one of the biggest and most important sites around was Home of the Underdogs.

]]>Thu, 14 Sep 2017 07:00:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/review/1488-esports-geforce-gt-1030-vs-radeon-rx-550/https://www.techspot.com/review/1488-esports-geforce-gt-1030-vs-radeon-rx-550/It's time for another GPU battle, though this one is a bit different with GPUs under $100: from AMD we have the Radeon RX 550 and on Nvidia's side is the GeForce GT 1030. Our focus will be primarily on eSports titles including CS:GO, Overwatch and Dota 2 running on a Ryzen 3 test bench.

]]>Thu, 14 Sep 2017 02:00:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/bestof/laptops/https://www.techspot.com/bestof/laptops/When choosing the right laptop it all comes down to what you are willing to spend and what you plan to use it for. After looking at several of the best devices this year and analyzing dozens of professional reviews and user opinions, we bring you the best of the best in a handful of popular categories.

]]>Mon, 11 Sep 2017 12:30:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/review/1486-amd-a12-9800/https://www.techspot.com/review/1486-amd-a12-9800/While we wait for Zen-based APUs, AMD released Bristol Ridge through OEMs late last year, it recently became available on the retail market and this caught the attention of many. The A12-9800 costs $110 and along with promising pretty decent integrated graphics performance, you can take advantage of it on a new AM4 motherboard.

]]>Mon, 11 Sep 2017 07:00:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/article/1483-iphone-parental-controls/https://www.techspot.com/article/1483-iphone-parental-controls/I'm the father of a very curious 9-year-old. As such, it's a headache trying to make sure she doesn't accidentally Google something that's a little too mature for her eyes. She currently uses an iPad Air 2 as her primary device, allow me to share what I've learned.

]]>Fri, 08 Sep 2017 09:45:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/review/1472-motorola-moto-z2-play/https://www.techspot.com/review/1472-motorola-moto-z2-play/The most striking aspect to the Moto Z2 Play is its slim body. At under 6.0mm thick yet still packing a 3,000 mAh battery, the Z2 Play is one of the slimmest phones on the market right now, however at $500 it faces very tough competition.

]]>Fri, 08 Sep 2017 06:15:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/guides/1480-iphone-mass-delete-mail-app/https://www.techspot.com/guides/1480-iphone-mass-delete-mail-app/Apple for the longest time made it unnecessarily difficult to mass delete messages in its Mail app. With iOS 9, Apple finally saw the light and baked in a "delete all" feature... only to backtrack and remove the option a year later with iOS 10. Here's a workaround.

]]>Thu, 07 Sep 2017 09:15:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/article/1482-hidden-siri-commands/https://www.techspot.com/article/1482-hidden-siri-commands/Making use of standard commands that can otherwise be performed with regular touch input may seem like an inconvenience for some, but there are some hidden tricks buried within Siri for you to discover that are not accessible from any other apps.

]]>Wed, 06 Sep 2017 09:30:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/review/1475-razer-blade-stealth-refresh/https://www.techspot.com/review/1475-razer-blade-stealth-refresh/The Razer Blade Stealth has received a refresh featuring the same great design, portable form factor, and solid selection of internal hardware, but now addressing previous downsides with a larger screen with smaller bezels, a better trackpad, among others, that make this a superb ultraportable contender.

]]>Wed, 06 Sep 2017 00:00:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/article/1470-make-iphone-ringtones/https://www.techspot.com/article/1470-make-iphone-ringtones/I have tried several different ringtone apps for the iPhone. While they are mostly easy to use, I have yet to find one that gives me the same precision as using iTunes, so why not just make them from scratch? It is a straightforward process, and after you make a couple of tones, the method becomes a cake walk.

]]>Tue, 05 Sep 2017 07:00:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/article/1479-iphone-battery-life-tips/https://www.techspot.com/article/1479-iphone-battery-life-tips/Scientists have made plenty of battery breakthroughs in the lab in recent years yet we're still waiting for that revolutionary, game-changing advancement to trickle down to the consumer space. Stretching a phone's charge to the absolute limit is a top priority and today, we're going to share some tips to help you get the most mileage out of your iOS device.

]]>Mon, 04 Sep 2017 07:30:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/review/1481-top-5-worst-cpus/https://www.techspot.com/review/1481-top-5-worst-cpus/Today we're going to do something a little different just for fun and look at the top 5 worst CPUs released in the last few years. This is not intended to be taken as seriously as one of our buying guides, and if you happen to have one of these CPUs please don't be offended. In fact, under certain conditions they might even be a justified purchase. Without further ado, let's see why we think these are bad picks for most users...

]]>Mon, 04 Sep 2017 02:00:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/review/1478-destiny-2-pc-benchmarks/https://www.techspot.com/review/1478-destiny-2-pc-benchmarks/Opened just days ago to those who preordered the game, today we have a beta copy of Destiny 2 on hand for a heap of GPU benchmarking. Although the PC retail release won't be until late October, this seemed like a great opportunity to see what kind of hardware the game is likely to require.

]]>Thu, 31 Aug 2017 01:55:00 -0500https://www.techspot.com/review/1467-htc-u11/https://www.techspot.com/review/1467-htc-u11/While HTC worked with Google to create the excellent Pixel phones, their own branded devices haven't been doing as well. Now the company is putting their best effort towards the HTC U11, with 'squeezable' sides and flagship specs, a 5.5-inch 1440p display, and a 12MP camera supposedly rated the best on the market.